Jazz Chisholm Jr. played a key role in the New York Yankees’ 4-3 win over the Boston Red Sox in Game 2 of the American League Wild Card Series at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday. After being left out of the starting lineup for Game 1, Chisholm returned to help keep the Yankees’ season alive.
“We always put everything out there on the line, especially in the playoffs,” said Chisholm. “You don’t want to have any space or give another team a little bit of an edge. Obviously, I think it was a must-win.”
Chisholm scored what turned out to be the winning run after Austin Wells hit a single off Garrett Whitlock in the fifth inning. Chisholm ran from first base to home plate in 9.16 seconds, beating the throw with a headfirst slide.
“I felt like I made a decent swing on one of his best pitches,” said Wells. “Having him at first, I was kind of expecting him to steal or do something. When it landed, I was just waiting to turn around and see him scoring.”
Defensively, Chisholm contributed by teaming up with Anthony Volpe for a double play and later stopping a potential two-run single by Masataka Yoshida with a diving stop.
“I want to make sure it’s mentioned: Jazz saved us the game, completely,” said reliever Fernando Cruz.
“What do you expect? The guy is a game-changer,” added Yankees captain Aaron Judge. “It just shows you the maturity, to take what happened the day before and bring it into today’s game. He showed up ready to play today and ended up having the biggest plays for us throughout the night.”
When asked how he managed his disappointment from not playing in Game 1, Chisholm responded: “I played MLB The Show and I mercy-ruled someone. That’s how I get my stress off… It’s true.”
Ben Rice also contributed with a two-run homer in his postseason debut, helping put pressure on Red Sox starter Brayan Bello early in the game.
“Being able to set the tone early for us in the first inning and give us a lead, I know I was able to get the boys fired up,” Rice said.
The Red Sox tied it after Trevor Story’s two-run single off Carlos Rodón in the third inning but New York retook control as Trent Grisham scored on Judge’s fly ball that fell beyond Jarren Duran’s reach.
Story answered again with a solo home run in the sixth inning before Rodón steadied himself after giving up four straight balls to Alex Bregman. Yankees manager Aaron Boone visited Rodón on the mound but decided to leave him in after Rodón insisted he could continue.
“I was like, ‘All right, here’s my shot. I’ve got to be pretty up front with it,’” said Rodón. “So I said: ‘I am staying in.’”
Rodón then recorded key outs before Cruz came out of the bullpen during another threat and ended Boston’s seventh-inning rally.
“It’s time to compete. It’s time to go after it,” Cruz said. “I just compete. I grab the ball, that white thing, and let’s go – you vs. me.”
Devin Williams and David Bednar finished out pitching duties as New York secured its first postseason win this October following their 94 regular-season victories.
In recent playoff matchups since 2003 between these teams, Boston has advanced each time—including series wins in 2004 (ALCS), 2018 (ALDS), and 2021 (Wild Card). The Yankees now face another decisive game against their rivals.
“It’s win or go home for us,” Chisholm said. “And it’s all about winning.”
